Cradle of Delusion (1)

Nianbakh succeeded in completely shaking off his pursuers.

But he couldn’t survive.

The poison eating away at his heart eventually drove him to the edge.

He gave up on using his remaining life for his own survival.

Instead, he decided to gather all his capabilities to create a guardian.

The guardian was completed just before his last breath.

Nianbakh was embraced by his beloved wife and daughter.

The two comforted him ‘silently’.

“Evelyn… please take care of our daughter. I’m sorry for leaving so early.”

A moment later. The guardian, having finished its initialization process, opened its eyes.

In the guardian’s eyes, it saw Nianbakh sleeping with a peaceful expression.

“Initiating guardian ‘Father’ startup.”

“This unit’s mission is to protect its master Nianbakh’s wife and daughter, ‘Evelyn’ and ‘Aletia’, from external threats.”

“Also, as Aletia’s godfather, it has the duty to provide education and necessary support.”

The guardian’s voice was mechanical.

In fact, it was. Father was just a machine moving only with reason, without emotions.

But if someone had heard this voice, they would have certainly felt uneasy.

“So I ask. Where are Evelyn and Aletia that I must protect?”

“This unit has only confirmed the corpse of its master Nianbakh and two unidentified corpses.”

“The unidentified corpses are presumed to have been dead for a long time.”

“Since Nianbakh was alive when creating this unit, it’s logically contradictory for those corpses to be the protection targets.”

……

“Please answer.”

“Where are the subjects this unit must protect?”

“Were the Evelyn and Aletia you saw really alive?”

……

“331,347th communication. Requesting permission to terminate protection mission.”

“… No response from master. Mission continues.”

* * *

After the bitter reminiscence ended.

The system message blinked as if asking us to decide whether to leave or not.

A blue portal to exit the dungeon.

Conversely, a red portal leading to a deeper place.

Our choice at this fork was as good as decided.

“We’re going deeper, right?”

“Of course, we have to go.”

Everyone here is a core gamer who has dedicated considerable time to the game.

Higher difficulty. More dangerous adventure. And lastly, better rewards.

If one didn’t crave these, they wouldn’t have joined this party.

Soolbbang moved first, and everyone followed.

The view briefly went dark, and a new area appeared.

I… didn’t like the story of this dungeon.

* * *

“Warning. This unit ‘Father’ is responsible for protecting this cradle.”

“Retreat. Any further approach will inevitably result in forceful suppression.”

As we advanced through the long corridor, red lights flickered intermittently.

A warning sound reminiscent of real-life sirens went beep- beep.

It alerted an emergency situation, but no monsters actually appeared.

Instead, only a dry voice characteristic of machines was heard.

“Intruder. For what purpose have you come here?”

“Evelyn and Aletia are not here. I am just a guardian with nothing to protect.”

“Go back. All that remains here are the lingering attachments born of a madman.”

“There is nothing you seek in this cradle of delusion.”

As we advanced, I began to understand the cause of my discomfort.

A guardian born with nothing to protect.

A ghost bound to the past without any development or meaning.

A fool burying their finite life in vain dreams.

The three didn’t seem like such different stories.

A corner of my heart felt stifled.

As I wandered through the empty corridor, my hand unconsciously went to a corner of the interface.

[Received Mailbox – Permanent Storage]

– [Sigma e-Sports] Player Recruitment Proposal

– [AT] Proposal for Joining

– [Q Prime] Team Joining Proposal

– [青云] Professional e-Sports Player Joining Proposal

– [Falcon] Player Contract Proposal

Team joining proposals written in various languages.

Since winning the Arena… actually, some had started piling up in my mailbox even before that.

I had a hard time running each through a translator.

In the end, I rejected them all.

It wasn’t voluntary, so is it strange to call this ‘rejection’?

Despite that, I was so happy to have received these pro offers.

Every time I looked at them, my heart sank and a smirk appeared on my face.

I cherished and kept them like precious trophies.

Thinking about it coldly, it seems too ugly.

How pathetic.

‘Is it perhaps time… for me to make a decision too?’

I know. It’s all attachment.

It’s delusion because I can’t forget what I’ve already given up, what I’ve already failed at.

Just as the guardian of this dungeon received a mission it can’t fulfill, I’m trapped in an unattainable dream.

I’ve even won once now.

From now on, I should quietly put down my attachment to the sword.

If I study normally and get a job, I’ll probably live a healthier life than now.

But can I call that me?

Irritation rising steadily.

I pushed the emotions deep inside while gripping the dagger’s handle.

It was something I was very good at.

As long as I didn’t directly hold a sword, I could stuff in these unpleasant emotions as much as I wanted.

It might explode someday, but not now.

By the time we reached the end of the corridor, the guardian hadn’t sent out any troops.

We stopped for a moment at the entrance of a wide battlefield.

“There’s nothing particularly visible.”

“The battlefield looks wide. Could there be area skills or big gimmicks?”

“Considering what we’ve seen so far, it seems like it might just be a simple boss.”

The moment we step onto the battlefield, the battle will start immediately.

So we need to analyze in advance what we can.

I decided to take off the rabbit ears for now because the twitching was bothering me.

Nothing could be confirmed except the boss monster’s appearance.

The basic weapons are dual swords. The guardian is a humanoid about 2m tall?

The notable point was that other weapons were floating around nearby.

It seemed like it would be mainly a close combat fight.

Having human weapons means it intends to use them.

The excessively wide battlefield also looked completely empty, and there was no more information to be gained in advance.

Then there’s only one answer.

“Let’s go with the standard. Just in case, Sansae unni will observe the map pattern. Soolbbang will tank, and if he looks like he’s about to die, Uncle Dulgul will go berserk. We’ll reorganize the rest then.”

“What about me?”

“The DPS… well, you and I will have to manage on our own.”

That’s the end of the orders.

I stepped in without hesitation.

Today, it felt like I was gripping the dagger harder than usual.

* * *

“So you’ve come at last. Guardian ‘Father’ will fulfill its mission.”

“You are the first intruder here since I started up.”

“I don’t understand. I have no value. What are you fighting for?”

I don’t know either, such things.

The guardian pointed its sword tip at Soolbbang in the lead.

A spear flying from somewhere on the map collided with the greatsword.

Although the parry failed, the warrior continued to advance.

Well, regardless of that, his health bar was completely wrecked.

The damage is terrifying.

I shouldn’t get hit.

“Can you hold out?”

“Not at all!”

“Looks like it.”

But what can we do about it?

It’s all the fate of a melee warrior.

Whatever Soolbbang’s health is, there’s nothing I can do right now.

Feeling like I needed to move a bit ahead, I jumped using his shoulder holding the greatsword as a stepping stone.

I stood up while tying a rope to a beam supporting the ceiling.

From the high vantage point, I could clearly see the situation on the battlefield.

Gray light extends along the tip of the guardian’s sword.

The floor touched by the light turns red and melts.

If we leave that alone, our front line will become well-roasted chicken.

I threw a dagger towards the guardian’s ankle in advance, then descended as if throwing my body.

The first target to aim for was, of course, the neck.

[The Song of Valor echoes.]

[All attack power increases by 7%…]

[Caster: Sansae]

Whatever it is, creatures with two arms and legs each and walking upright have similar weak points.

After all, the human body was created following the most efficient form.

The most important sight is better the higher it is, so it’s at the top.

To receive visual information flawlessly, the central processing unit, the brain, is located at the same position.

The best place to distribute power throughout the body is, of course, the heart.

If it was made imitating humans, it’s only proper that its weak points are human-like too.

“Fall back!”

Soolbbang and Uncle Dulgul immediately retreated.

As soon as I stabbed down with my dagger, shadows surged up.

Several black blades pierced the guardian’s body, but my weapon couldn’t pierce the guardian’s armor.

“Partial destruction of drive unit confirmed. Initiating self-repair.”

“Changing highest threat target.”

The floor briefly rippled with a black light.

Suspecting something, I retreated backward, and gray blades shot up from the floor.

It was exactly the same skill I had used.

An uneasy premonition rang alarm bells in my head.

“Initial adaptation rate 4.41%. Classification assassin. Height approximately 5.12 feet. Weight…”

“C-Crazy! Won’t you shut that mouth?”